understanding the rapids.

life can be compared to a river.

every once in a while there will be calm spots, but large stretches of river are rapids, of all sizes. 

there will be good times in each of our lives; times when things seem to work out perfectly. it's a calm stretch where everything fits together, pieces fall into place and being content simply means sitting back and enjoying the scenery. then, there are the rapids. some will be small, and you simply have to hold on tight for a second until you're over the rough patch, but others will be class five rapids that leave you hanging on to whatever you can with the tips of your fingers for what seems like eternities. i've had rapids in my life that leave my mind and body numb and exhausted because i've just been trying to survive for so long, just like bracing yourself to travel down intense rapids would.

looking at this river from the bank or an overlook, it's beautiful and awe inspiring. looking at the river from the middle of a little plastic raft... well it could be downright terrifying. 

being in the middle of a series of rapids is scary. 

taking a step back towards the bank and realizing that the journey we're taking down the river is incredible is a crucial part of our spiritual, physical, and mental growth. keeping a heavenly perspective is so important, yet so often forgotten. i know i forget to step back all the time, but it's alright because i have a river guide that shows me the safest routes around the sharp rocks, eddies, and logs that could drag me under. 

trusting your river guide is a leap of faith sometimes. God knows that we're scared, and we just want to be in a calm stretch again. however, he also knows that traveling down the hard road will teach us things we couldn't have learned any other way. 

this week, i'm working on trusting my river guide more fully. after all, he knows my river better than i do.